Posts Tagged ‘christian education’
“It’s Different Here”
Five years ago, my family and I were visiting Zeeland Christian shortly after I had accepted the position here. It was Good Friday, and the enduring memory of that day is the worship during all-school chapel. As chapel ended, longtime ZCS facility manager Paul Meeuwsen walked up and took the microphone, tearfully telling the students…
Read MoreResponding to Ukraine/Russia with Your Children
The following statement was sent to our middle and elementary teachers and staff on the morning of Feb. 24, 2022. Middle School and Elementary Teams, Please read the following information from Tim Paauw regarding the Ukraine/Russia situation. Paauw and I (Betsy Koop) continue to be in prayer for you as teachers who field students many questions…
Read MoreStronger achievement scores in all subjects and grade levels.
Last week, many of your students likely came home from school sharing about MAP Growth testing in their classrooms. I had the opportunity to help with testing in a few first-grade classrooms. It was inspiring to observe the calm leadership of our teachers as they navigated student logins, technology questions, and nerves. There are a…
Read MoreAssisting Parents
Parents, we’re here for you. How can we help? The phrase “assisting parents” is included in the mission of ZCS, and we see this aspect of our mission lived out each day in our hallways, classrooms, playgrounds, hiking trails, and specials. Stacy Deters, Dir. of Student Support Services, recently shared this story with our Board,…
Read MoreHead of School Note 1.19.22
Parents and Guardians, Reflecting on our first few weeks back to school after the holidays, I am encouraged by the many acts of kindness, the sense of family, and the spirit of teamwork I witness each day. It hasn’t been an “easy” beginning to the new year, and yet, the spirit of God and his…
Read MoreDo Immersion Differently
“Speaking the language is only part of the benefit of attending a trilingual Christian school.“ A few weeks ago, we walked into our Wednesday night church dinner and a sweet little girl ran up to my fourth-grade daughter, Greta. Speaking quickly in Spanish, I heard the little girl cheerfully greet her and then ask if they…
Read MoreZeeland Christian School Announces Next Elementary Principal
Betsy Koop will be the next elementary principal for Zeeland Christian School (ZCS). She will fill the opening created by the retirement of Sherri Tibbe at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Mrs. Koop taught at ZCS from 2008 – 2013, was an instructional specialist for addalingua from 2013 – 2018, and has been…
Read MoreResponse to Anti-Asian Attacks
爱上帝，爱孩子，爱学习 Ama a Dios, Ama a los niños, Ama aprender Love God, Love Kids, Love Learning At Zeeland Christian, our community is stronger because of a faculty and staff born in twelve different countries. We see God’s world through a variety of cultures. We deepen our faith through stories of commitment to sharing the good…
Read MoreThe Osterinks: Beyond the classroom
Our family has been involved with the Mandarin Immersion program at ZCS for over 7 years now. From our initial experiences up to today, we have been blessed to learn and grow new things with each additional year our kids are in the program. Though in the beginning we may have had hesitations around our…
Read MoreThe Moellers: Preparing our children for God’s path
When our oldest was five and ready for kindergarten, it felt like a HUGE leap of faith to start Mandarin full-time. We started asking ourselves: “Is he ready for Chinese? How will he learn English? What if it’s hard?” After a lot of questioning, we realized we needed to change our perspective from asking hesitantly…
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